Books The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2 by F. A. Hayek (Author), Bruce Caldwell

"The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents—The Definitive Edition" by F. A. Hayek, edited by Bruce Caldwell, is a comprehensive volume that includes Hayek's classic 1944 work along with important related texts and documents that provide context and insight into his argument. Hayek's central thesis in "The Road to Serfdom" is that central economic planning and socialism inevitably lead to loss of individual freedoms and the rise of totalitarian regimes.

Written during World War II, Hayek warns that attempts at government control of economic decision-making through central planning increasingly undermine democratic institutions and rule of law, leading societies down a "road to serfdom." He argues that socialism, even under democratic aspirations, erodes political and economic freedom while concentrating power in the hands of a few who maintain control through coercion and propaganda.